Please try! I too am wondering about the success of winter cuttings, but you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying. I'd recommend taking several small cuttings of each, putting some in sand, some in perlite, etc., so that maybe some (and hopefully all) will grow.

If no better "expert" responds to tell you exactly how to take cuttings, I'll come back and at least tell you what I've done successfully in the past, regarding where to cut, what to scrape, what medium to use, where to put it, how much to water it, etc., unless you already know that part.

Also, keep an eye on the bulldozers when they come -- if it's springtime, you may have some baby animals to rescue! Get in touch with your nearest wildlife rehabilitator in advance, just in case!

Hi,
Thanks for the post. I have tried rooting cuttings but never in the winter. I read the post on doing the butterfly shrub and thought I'd kinda follow along w/that.
I'm going down now to take cuttings - as large as I can manage - probably about 1/2 in to 3/4 in thick and as long as I or my cutters can manage. Sent DH to big box store for soilless mix and i have everything ready except for heating mat. Will put them in plastic tents in garage under warm white grow lights (is this a good idea?) and cut leaves back or in half.
Basically what I'd try to do in fall...
Appreciate the mention of the animals - will contact my friends that are involved in that area.
Appreciate the encouragement.
Linda

Rather than taking very large, thick cuttings of the ornamentals, you will have more success if you take smaller in diameter cuttings, usually about the diameter of a pencil. In many cases you want to take cuttings of the part of the shrub or tree that was last years growth. That is the part of the plant that will have the best chance of rooting.

Each individual tree or shrub will have it's own method and time of year that is most likely to succeed-hardwood, softwood or greenwood cuttings. Some may not propagate very well by cuttings at all (like redbuds).
I just bought the book Plant Propagation by the American Horticultural Society at Barnes and Noble recently. It has propagation information for many individual plants in it. Perhaps you could look up the info for your shrubs and trees there.

Quince is a shrub that has multiple stems growing from the ground. Your quickest method may be to try and dig up some of the shrub from the side. Prune it back really hard and plant the root ball. It will grow back fairly quickly.
That would work for other shrubs like that such as forsythia, burning bush, purpleleaf sandcherry, spireas etc.
Your soil probably isn't too frozen down there, is it?

Well, I did it. Have things laid out and ready to whittle down to manageable size cuttings. Got some containers to start them in so will let you know how things progress.
Thanks,
Linda

Linda, I don't think that you need direct sunlight or grow lights for the twigs that are bare right now. I think warmth and humidity and indirect natural light might give them the best chance -- artificial light might dry them out too much or fry their baby leaves when they leaf out.

I don't know this for sure -- it's just my instinct -- but I've been pretty successful with my twigs in a warm room away from the window with a daily mist bath. Even my grey, gnarly, ugly little winterberry holly twigs have started making leaves, although they looked as old and dead as can be when I harvested them!

Oh, good luck with the Winterberry. It is on my wish list, beautiful in the winter, isn't it?
I'll let you know in a couple of weeks how things are going.
Rethought the light too. Sitting 'em on a workbench near a window in the garage - indirect light.
Wish me luck!
Linda

one lady asked for the whole plant and got them. if you can you should do that for the camielias and such. i use the starter booster by miracle grow. its a liquid and you water with it. and the schults. i did every time. i didn't know you werent supposed to. i dnt think and i had a branch holding up a tomatoe bush. it started getting its leaves and growing a little. it was funny!! i had to show my hubby that!!

Medontdo,
I couldn't manage the entire plant - these are really OLD, established camellia bushes - 'bout the size of an F150 standing on end. LOL!
Really, they are all about 10' or more tall and maybe 8-10' across.
But I hope to have some starts. Just a couple of each would thrill me. We could all probably buy them but that is never the point, is it??
May go with the starter booster very lightly though.
Thanks for the input.
Linda

In old textbooks they described how people transported grape cuttings long distances and long times as on the ship from Europe by burying them upside down in sand. If you have the time and space and the inclination to experiment you may want to try that.

Windy acres has the really good tips (digging suckers or slamming out side parts with a shovel and moving those to your own yard, chunk and all planted.

To those thoughts I'd recommend that mimicking the light outdoors is what a person should do when using lamps. As the days become longer, the light cycle should also be lengthened. That's what I hear from a buddy who's in the conifer propagation business. Cuttings will need the light and whether indirect or direct in the case of any lamp that provides intense heat, the judment should be made using your own hand/skin as a guide to setting the light to a comfortable height.

Anyway, so today I speak to another guy who's in the conifer business but this guy tells me that his buddy leaves the lights on in his greenhouse 24 hours a day. I don't think you need that much light, but evidently he thought it was helping his takes percentage on his grafts, I don't know...

Here's the information for all the plants you have on your list:

Quince: spade shovel to seperate suckers or chunks of the shrub (get anything with roots).

Redbud: Collect Seeds. Sow seed anytime and they will germinate, cover seed lightly. Seed is stored in a ziploc bag or pill jar, etc - in a refridgerator, dry. These are really that simple.

Camellia:
Dirr, Michael A and Heuser, Charles, Jr. ÂThe Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue CultureÂ; (Second Edition 2006); Varsity Press, Inc. ISBN: 0942375092 or ISBN: 13: 978-0-942375-09-1

Camellia japonica: "American Camellia Society reported May to September (and November), current season's growth just below 5th node, 3000 to 5000 ppm IBA, wound, sand: peat or peat:perlite, mist or polytent. Patience may be the key with camellias... A change from green to brown (wood) is supposedly the best time... The younger the stock plant the better the rooting response. 3000-8000 ppm IBA-talc produced best results."

Camellia sasanqua:
Mid-January, 3000 ppm IBA, sand:peat, 100% rooting. This shecies should be handled as described for C. japonica.

Red Japanese Maples, best results for a non-grafter will be seeds although cultivar 'Bloodgood' is notorious as a good rooter. Do a Garden Web Search in the Maples gallery for cuttings, I wrote a big chunk of information from:
Dirr, Michael A and Heuser, Charles, Jr. ÂThe Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation: From Seed to Tissue CultureÂ; (Second Edition 2006); Varsity Press, Inc. ISBN: 0942375092 or ISBN: 13: 978-0-942375-09-1

Ornamental Plum (Sand Cherry is done with softwood in June). I don't know what species you're asking about.

Dax

Dax, and all-
I have put the cuttings in a mix of peat, perlite, and sand. Used Root tone on them and moistened the planting medium, put them near a garage window with SW exposure. Not direct light coming in window...
That is all I could manage. Hope for the best for me and these cuttings.
I really do appreciate all of your suggestions and help with this because i am so anxious to get just a few rooted cuttings of each. I hate to see these old established plants just destroyed w/out a thought.
Again, appreciate everyone's input.
Will keep y'all posted on how things are coming.
Linda

hi, just came across this old post and am wondering what happened. any success?